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[quote=Anonymous]I grew up squarely middle class and although my HHI is a little above that range now, I do *NOT* take lavish vacations.

1) I barely ever pay more than $400/base rate/ for a flight -- one exception, I once paid $590 for a r/t to Sydney -- and I do this by religiously following Scott's cheap flights and being opportunistic. Flying and accommodations are the biggest travel expenses so keeping flights cheap is a priority for me. I also refuse to do anything extraordinary for flights -- I don't fly Spirit or Ryanair (especially not with kids) and I won't take flights at horrible times or with ridiculous connections.  So, what I mean by being opportunistic is having a list of destinations I'd be interested in, watching the alerts come in my email, and if I see a place I want to go land in my box, booking it. You can't travel cheap if you are dead-set on a specific destination/timing situation but if you'd be ok flying into Budapest instead of Vienna (for example) and for Spring Break instead of summer, you'd be surprised at what you have to pay.

2) I don't do hotels other than on the night before travel days, and in rare cities where they're cheaper than the alternative (London is one of these). Airbnbs are nearly always cheaper, AND they save you money because you can more easily eat leftovers and have breakfast at home. I find I can't do 3 big restaurant meals a day and I like being able to have a yogurt or something in the AM, and an airbnb makes that very easy. Plus, with kids, you typically have a better set up than with a hotel.  I usually cap my nightly expense at 155/200 depending on what/where (high end for places like England or Paris, lower end for places like rural mainland Europe), and you can find amazing options especially if you book well in advance.

Those are the two big ones. On a pre-pandemic trip I spent a week in rural France with my 2 kids and husband and a rental car. The whole shebang was 1200 for the flights, 700 for the airbnb -- which, by the way, was a gorgeous rural french gite --  for a week, 150 for an additional  hotel night, 450 for the rental car, and all the other random incidentals. Not "cheap" by any means but certainly affordable for our big annual vacation to rural France. It was the best trip of my life, honestly.

I'm also not a huge sightseer. I like spending time walking around, people watching, grabbing little snacks and glasses of wine at cafes, going to free or inexpensive special events instead of pricey museums/sights. I'll do big sights occasionally for sure, but I would 100% prefer to spend 30$ on a West End show than the same amount on a museum. So, that keeps costs down but it's a matter of personal preference. Again, my lack of pickiness works in my favor  -- I don't get my heart set on seeing Hamilton, for example, I find the show that's the best deal.

I think I just don't think of myself as a rich person even though at this point I kind of am. I still think of myself as a grad student traveling on a tight budget, and that naturally keeps costs down.  Public transportation instead of taxis. Walking instead of taking public transit. Buying lunch at a grocery store and eating in the park instead of getting lunch at a restaurant. I still remember wandering around Brussels nibbling on a cone of fries I bought -- not a meal, but so delicious.  [/quote]

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